Recent environmental awareness has resulted in a recognition of, and an increase in, the recycling of various waste products. In order to facilitate such recycling, it is necessary to provide separate waste receptacles for the various waste materials to be recycled, such as plastics, aluminum cans, green glass, brown glass, clear glass, paper and food (or garbage). Thus, five or six separate waste receptacles are often required.
The necessity of providing so many receptacles often results in such recycling efforts not being pursued in places where available space is limited, such as in the home, in recreational or camping vehicles, etc.
This space problem is further compounded by the fact that, often institutions (such as elementary schools) that accept such waste for recycling only do so during certain limited periods, necessitating the further use of space.
Moreover, when working around the lawn or garden, problems are often encountered in putting leaves, twigs or debris into a trash bag. In such instances, it is usually necessary to have one person hold and spread the mouth of the bag open, while a second person puts the leaves, twigs or debris into the bag. Thus, this becomes a "three-handed" job, that is difficult for one person to handle.
In order to solve the above problems, various mechanical devices have been disclosed that are designed to hold (and/or spread), or to aid in holding (and/or spreading) a trash bag open. Such devices of which I am aware have been disclosed in the following United States Patents:
______________________________________ Inventor(s) U.S. Pat. No. Year of Issue ______________________________________ Baxter 2,078,438 1937 Gardner 2,875,970 1959 Hobbs 3,091,422 1963 Maschek 3,162,414 1964 Ady 3,861,630 1975 Cornell et al 3,893,649 1975 Grenetier 3,912,208 1975 Haas, Jr. 3,942,832 1976 D'Antonio et al 3,998,415 1976 Gawedzinski 4,159,139 1979 Barton et al 4,339,099 1982. ______________________________________
I am also aware of a device that consists of a sectional rectangular frame including plastic PVC piping. The trash bags are then clipped onto the frame (as, for example, one bag for aluminum, another for brown glass, another for plastic, etc.).
While each of the above devices aid in making the chore a "two-handed" job that can be performed by one person, these devices have, unfortunately, all proven to be unsatisfactory in several respects. First, these devices routinely employ large wire frames and plastic or metal barrels that typically receive the bag and which spread and hold the mouth of the bag open, so that trash can be placed therein. Such frames and barrels can be overly expensive and are often too large to be conveniently stored in many households. Secondly, such devices often require considerable time and effort to properly arrange the trash bag therein. Thirdly, other of these devices are often complicated, being comprised of a number of elements (such as springs) which may be easily lost or damaged.
Further, it is noted that none of the devices noted above satisfactorily combines durability with portability, so that the device may be utilized "in the field".
Accordingly, it can be seen that there remains a need for a device for holding at least a portion of a trash bag and spreading open the trash bag, so that the device occupies minimum amounts of space (cubic footage) and further so that filling of the trash bag is a "two-handed" or a "one-handed" job, and wherein the device is a highly durable unitary one-piece device that is lightweight so as to be portable, low-cost, easy-to-use, and which does not have any loose parts or elements which may be lost or damaged.